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The characters of Kath, Kim (created by Riley and Turner) and Sharon (created and played by Magda Szubanski[2]) first featured in the early 1990s as a weekly segment of the Australian comedy series Big Girl's Blouse (Seven, 1994–95).[3] They also appeared in Something Stupid (Seven, 1998).[3]

The skits were developed by Riley and Turner into a full series. The first series of Kath & Kim premiered on ABC TV on 16 May 2002, with three further series following, while a television movie, entitled Da Kath and Kim Code, was broadcast nationally on 25 November 2005. Kath & Kim has garnered much critical acclaim since its debut, winning two Logie Awards for Outstanding Comedy Programme and an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Television Drama Series. In Australia, it has become a pop-culture phenomenon, and is a success with audiences nationwide. Internationally, the series has spawned a cult fanbase.

The fourth series of Kath & Kim began airing on the Seven Network on 19 August 2007, due to the contract expiring with ABC. The first episode of series four attracted an Australian audience of 2.521 million nationally,[4] the highest rating ever for a first episode in the history of Australian television,[4] until the series premiere of Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities in 2009 with 2.58 million viewers.[5]

Due to the success that Kath & Kim has achieved internationally, it was remade for US audiences by NBC.[6][7][8] Riley and Turner served as executive producers on the US version. In this remake, actress Molly Shannon has taken the role of Kath Day,[9] and Selma Blair the role of Kim.[10] The character of Sharon does not appear at the insistence of Szubanski.

NBC chose Jason Ensler to direct. Michelle Nader developed the series for American television, which premiered in the United States as part of the Fall schedule of 2008. The series started to shoot in California in July 2008. NBC debuted the US adaptation on 9 October 2008, while Seven started screening it to Australian viewers on 12 October 2008. After airing only two episodes, Seven dropped the sitcom from their lineup due to poor ratings, only to bring it back several weeks later as a late-night schedule filler. In America, reviews were poor, but it averaged roughly around 5 to 7 million viewers per week, and was rewarded with a full season order in October 2008.[11][12] On 19 May 2009, NBC announced that there would not be a second season of Kath & Kim.

On 9 March 2011, Turner and Riley announced plans for a movie, in which, Kath, Kim, Kel, Brett, Sharon and Epponnee would head overseas on holiday. Contracts were written to finance the film's production under the working title of The Kath & Kim Filum, with the word 'film' deliberately misspelt with the letter 'u' in typical Kath and Kim humour.[13] However, the title Kath & Kimderella was ultimately used, and the film was released in Australia on 6 September 2012.[14] It was directed by Ted Emery (director of the television series) and produced by Rick McKenna. The holiday scenes were shot in Positano, Italy and filming took a total of two weeks.[15]

The film was released in Australian cinemas on 6 September 2012.[14] It grossed in excess of $2.1 million in its first weekend on Australian movie screens.[16]

The main setting is Kath's townhouse in Fountain Lakes. It is taped in a house in the waterfront street of Lagoon Place, Patterson Lakes, Victoria.[1] The house's exact location is 4 Lagoon Place, Patterson Lakes, Victoria.

The storyline of first series follows Kath's engagement and plans for her wedding to Kel. Kim frequently stays in her mother's house owing to her rocky relationship with Brett (most of which is due to her own childish, spoilt, and rude behaviour towards Brett). Sharon's always around with a helping hand and her own relationship problems. Her history with Brett is also explored.

The second series follows Kim's pregnancy and her rekindled relationship with Brett. Kath and Kel's relationship goes through some teething troubles. Kim and Brett have a baby in the final episode of the second series whom they name Epponn'knee-Raelene Kathleen Darlene Charlene Craig, shortened to Epponn'knee-Rae. Several episodes of the third series focus on Epponn'knee-Rae. The third-season finale features an adult Epponn'knee-Rae, played by Kylie Minogue.

Storylines follow the characters' day-to-day lives, and document their personal struggles and the banality of their achievements and aspirations. Kath & Kim satirises the mother-daughter relationship and the habits and values of modern suburban Australians, and emphasises the kitsch and superficial elements of contemporary society, particularly the traditional working class which has progressed to a level of affluence (or "effluence" as quoted by Kath) which previous generations had been unable to achieve. Despite this affluence, good taste and a sense of cultural sophistication still eludes the titular characters.

It also occasionally mocks Australian and international mass popular culture, such as popular reality television shows Big Brother and Australian Idol. It sometimes makes statements about Australian politics. The crass and embarrassing behaviour of the characters, and their gaudy, out-dated fashion sense are popular features of the show. Processed and widely recognised Australian foods, such as Jatz crackers, Tim Tams and Fruiche yoghurt are frequently referenced in the series.

During the credits, most episodes end with Kath and Kim sitting in Kath's back yard, chatting about issues related to the episode. Sometimes these chats help to complete the story which was told during episode.

The highly developed alternative vocabulary including the mixed metaphors, hypercorrection, malapropisms, eggcorns (like "effluent" instead of "affluent"), and mis-pronunciations of the regular characters are much-repeated by the show's fans. These include: "Look at moy" (look at me)—used by Kath to command attention during arguments, and "It's noice, different and unusual"—used by Kath, Kim and Sharon to express approval or agreement.

Several guest stars are well-known Australian comedy performers, some of whom previously worked with Turner or Riley. Buble and Lucas were fans of the show and asked to appear in it. Humphries declared himself a fan of the series before taking part.

The title sequence shows the main five regular characters over a white background. In Series 3, it was amended to include Epponnee-Rae and Cujo. The five regular cast members are then credited over aerial shots of suburban houses. Szubanski is credited as "Special Guest Star," despite appearing in every episode. The theme song is "The Joker," performed by Gina Riley. A re-recording of it debuted in the telemovie opening sequence and has continued into Series 4.

Twenty-four episodes lasting approximately twenty-five minutes each across three series aired on ABC TV from 2002 to 2004. The series debuted on 15 May 2002 on the ABC Network with "Sex" and became one of the highest rated shows for ABC.[citation needed] A replacement of a full series occurred in 2005 with the telemovie Da Kath & Kim Code. The fourth series of Kath & Kim premiered on 19 August 2007 at 7:30 pm on the Seven Network with a total of eight episodes.

In late 2009, they announced that writing had begun on Series 5,[19] but by May 2010, Turner said: "We sort of felt like it was the end two years ago. We thought, ‘We’ve done enough and the well is dry and we can’t think of any more ideas’ ... We think we might just leave it for now."[20] The movie was released in 2012.

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Kath & Kim premiered on 16 May 2002 and became one of ABC's highest rated shows. When the show premiered on the Seven Network, it became the highest rating episode in Australian television history, until the record was broken by Nine Network's Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities on 9 February 2009. The fourth series of Kath & Kim debuted with a record breaking 2.511 million viewers peaking at 2.731 million. In its second and third episodes viewers fell to 1.994 & 1.817 million respectively, however viewers then rebounded for its fourth and fifth episodes with ratings of 2.047 & 2.157 million respectively. Strong ratings continued with viewers of 2.049 and 2.066 million for the sixth and seventh episodes. The eighth episode and series finale rated 2.338 million giving the fourth series an average viewership of 2.122 million, making it the highest rating series in Australia for 2007 and the highest rating of all four series of the show.[citation needed]

Channel Seven have since started showing repeats of the show from series one onwards which had previously only aired on the ABC network. The repeats have proved quite successful, rating 1.465 and 1.530 so far, winning in a very competitive timeslot and being amongst the highest rating shows of the week.[22]

The enduring public interest and popularity of Kath and Kim has led to a merchandising industry. The title family and supporting characters appear on everything from T-shirts to posters. The Kath & Kim series have been released on VHS (although titles are now discontinued in the VHS format) and DVD, in box-sets and separate series editions in both Region 4 (Australia, New Zealand, Latin America) as well as Region 2 (Europe). The series has also had a CD release, featuring songs from the series and recordings from Kath and Kim. In addition, there have been clothing (such as aprons, T-shirts and oven mitts). Merchandise is available to purchase online, from the Kath & Kim official website.

This release of the complete first season has a total running time of 202 minutes and contains all 8 episodes. Special features include features entitled "Being Stewpid", "Wine Time Philosophy" and "Scenes that are different, un-ewes-yewl" as well as re-living Brett And Kim's Connubials!

This release of the complete second season has a total running time of 215 minutes and contains all 8 episodes. Special features include features entitled "A bit of huffy puffy with Kath and Kel", "More Yumor", "More Wine Time philosophy" and "Scenes that are different, un-ewes-yewl".

This release of the complete third season has a total running time of 248 minutes and contains all 8 episodes. Special features includes a feature entitled "'In the Raw' with Kath & Kim" as well as goof reels, deleted scenes, a performance of "Lady Bump" at the Logies, interviews with Kath & Kim, bonus "Wine Time" material as well as Prue and Trued telling it how it is.

Called Kath & Kim: Series 1 & 2. Total running time 417 minutes. Contains the same special features as single season releases. Released through Roadshow Entertainment. Cover artwork states that it is PAL Region 4 but the discs have All Regions printed.

Called Kath & Kim: Series 3 & 4. Total Running Time 513 minutes. Contains the same special features as single season releases. Released through Roadshow Entertainment. Cover artwork states that it is PAL Region 4 but the discs have All Regions printed.

This release of Da Kath & Kim Code features two discs with a total running time of 164 minutes. It contains the telemovie as well as special features including an exended ending for the telemovie, behind the scenes, goofs, a feature entitled "Barry Humphries at 'The Buckingham'", deleted scenes as well as a feature entitled "Kath & Kim & Bert". The release also includes "Live in London" content which includes Kath & Kim live at the Toast Festival, wine tasting, talking to the BBC as well as having "A Current Affair".

The show itself, and the cast, have been nominated several television awards in the past, including AFI Awards and Logies. In addition, Kath and Kim and Da Kath and Kim Code have won four major awards for the show itself.